Of Whiskey Eyes & Crimson Lips
by Kitsunko
Summary: With eyes the color of whiskey and lips painted crimson, she stands at the podium and bares her teeth, watching as the world ignores her warnings. She'll take no prisoners, not in this war the the world foolishly declared on her family. "My brother may be Death's Merchant, but darlin', I'm his motherfuckin' Reaper."
1. Prologue

Anthony Edward and Margaret Carmela Stark were born on May 29th, 1973, the announcement of the birth shocking the world into silence as its people digested the knowledge that there were _two_ Stark Heirs, one of them _female_, and wondered which of the twins Howard would leave Stark industries to. Many assumed Howard would leave his company to Anthony when he was old enough, dismissing the thought that a woman could run the company alongside her twin, let alone by herself.

After all, it was a _man's _world, not a _woman's_.

Many years later, as Tony (_never_ Anthony) Stark stood at the podium, dark shades over his eyes and an arc reactor hidden beneath the layers of his suit, Carmela (_never _Margret) draped over him with crimson-painted lips pulled back into a smile that held far too much teeth and the golden flecks within her whiskey-colored eyes a tad _too _bright to be attributed to the lights, with Virginia "Pepper" Potts standing at their right and Colonel James Rhodes at their left, those who remembered the day the Stark's announced the birth of the twins would whisper; _We should've known it didn't matter who Howard chose to leave his company to, the world __**always**_ _belong to the __**Stark's**__._

* * *

**Marvel, it's movies, characters, comics, and merchandise all belong to the Walt Disney Company and it's subsidiaries. I'm not writing this fanfiction for profit, only fun.**  
**Disclaimer out of the way, this fanfiction mainly takes place in an alternate universe that's similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, also known as universe 1999999, with sprinkles of universe 616, the mainstream comics, sprinkled in, so you've been warned that this will manly be a mishmash of story-lines in both the movies and comics.**  
**Also, this story will be updated whenever I have the time and it will not be on a regular updating schedule.**  
**That said, I hope you enjoy the story.**


	2. Chapter I

Maria Collins Carbonell was born the only daughter of an man named Jonathan and Giovanna Carbonell on March 3rd, 1939 in New York City, New York as her older brother Antonio sat by Giovanna's side, allowing her to hold his hand because Jonathan had wanted nothing to do with her after learning she was pregnant with his child for a second time.

He was never seen again after his last visit, not that anyone truly cared.

Maria never got to know her mother, for she passed away not even hours after her birth and Antonio Carbonell was left to raise his little sister, whom he had no idea how to care for, but nonetheless, he did his best.

~o0o~

Maria grew up in a small apartment with no mother or father, only an older brother who was her _everything _to raise her and teach her everything he knew. He raised her to be as unbreakable as vibranium and as sharp as a whip, he taught her the language their mother had spoken to him before she passed and encouraged her to pursue her interests in numbers and death and inventions, things people say no lady should interested because they were things that men do, but Antonio had never cared about what people said and neither did Maria. He had merely leaned down and whispered in her ear; "If _anyone _ever says you can't do something because you're a girl, you show them just how wrong they are, _sorellina _. But remember, never get caught or you'll visit _Signora Morte _a little earlier than expected."

Maria, with her dark skin covered in ink and long blonde hair in tangles, had merely bared her teeth in the parody of a smile, her whiskey-colored eyes glinting with a hidden madness and had responded with; _"Certo, caro fratello __."_

"Watch out for the Carbonell girl," people would whisper as they watched her from a distance with worry in their eyes, "for she ain't right in the head an' that brother o' her's only encourages her strange behavior."

Boys would chase after her for her pretty face and long blonde hair, only to turn around and run in the other direction when they saw beyond her pretty face and long blonde hair. And as they did so, she would grin and laugh, ink staining her hands and her blonde hair pulled up into a messy bun and Antonio would shake his head and murmur; _"Ragazzi sciocchi, ti inseguono per la tua bella faccia, solo per correre nella direzione opposta una volta che vedono oltre" _and Maria would giggle, twining herself around her brother as the boys ran in fear.

Antonio was the only one who accepted Maria for who she was.

For that, he was her _everything _.

Antonio would die only two months after she turned twenty-one, found stabbed to death in an alley by the police and Maria would scream and cry and lock herself in the apartment they had shared since before she had been born. Antonio had been her everything and she would _never _forgive those who had taken him from her. And if she had returned to the apartment late one night, blood on her hands and hysterical laughter stuck in her throat, well then that wasn't anyone's business but her own, now was it?

Jack Mitchell and Walter Robinson were reported missing two days later.

"The police never found their bodies", Maria would say to Howard one day as he worked on one of his robots and he would snort in amusement and respond with "Of course they didn't. You're not a fool like they are, Maria" and she would smile.

~o0o~

Maria met Howard Stark when she was twenty-four, ink hiding the blood that had once stained her hands and the strands of her hair that escaped her bun curling against the skin of her neck, and she would fall in love with him because he didn't care that she was a woman, he didn't care her she wasn't right in the head, all he cared about was that she could keep up with him.

She could and that made him smile.

The fact that he was rather handsome for someone in their mid-forties didn't hurt either.

~o0o~

Maria took his company like a storm, changing everything she could and helping it run better than it ever has, despite only being Howard's Personal Assistant, and then would disappear into Howard's workshop to have discussions about weapons and war and everything else they could think of as he built and she crunched numbers. She would watch from her position by Howard's side as he sent fear into the hearts of his partners and competitors, red pin after red pin disappearing into the bin as he eliminated the competition and traitors to Stark Industries without mercy.

She stood by his she throughout it all, heels clacking against the linoleum floors and a smile on her lips. The only person Howard trusted completely in the deadly, deadly dance that was the business of making weapons. A dance that they both enjoyed a little _too _much, much to the horror of the world.

"The Devil's partner", they would whisper and Maria would merely smile.

~o0o~

Howard Stark would realize he loved Maria Collins Carbonell after an assassin had broken into his workshop and Maria had shot the assassin at point blank range without even the slightest hesitation after wrestling the gun from the assassin's hands, the splattered blood looking like freckles on her dark skin and her blonde hair pulled from it's bun. She had turned to Howard, who had lay bleeding on the floor of his workshop, her whiskey eyes full of annoyance. "Would you consider adding extra security to your workshop _now _, Mr. Stark?"

Howard had later tried to drink himself to death, cursing himself for falling in love again, especially after what had happened the last time he fell in love.

Steve's rejection had broken his heart once, he didn't need Maria to break it a second time.

~o0o~

They were in his workshop, Howard building once again as Maria sat by his side, looking over the blueprints for one of Howard's newest weapon ideas when she spoke, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. She had heard the whispered rumors and had seen the skeptical glances of his partners and board members and had wondered, were they true? She also knew that Howard spent a considerably large amount of money and resources trying to find where the plane Captain America had last been seen in went down, most likely hoping the man was still alive. Jarvis, whom she had grown fond of and thought to be a tad too innocent for someone who worked for Howard, had just given her a soft look and had said; "I believe that is a question that only Master Howard could answer, Ms. Carbonell."

"Did you love him, Captain America?" Howard had paused in his work and then sat back, turning to face her as he tugged the goggles that covered his eyes up onto his forehead. His brown eyes studied her for several moments as he mulled over his answer, before responding with a question of his own.

"Does it matter, Maria?" He had asked with a weary sigh and she studied him for several moment before responding.

"To me? No, it doesn't matter whether or not you loved another man. I'm merely curious as to what your answer is." She had responded honestly and Howard had turned back to his project, tugging his goggles back over his eyes and he picked up he wrench.

The workshop had filled with the sounds of him building once again and just as she had turned her attention back to the blueprints, he had given her an answer. "I did. Once. It was a mistake."

"He broke your heart." Howard didn't say anything, continuing to weld and she had turned her attention back to the blueprints. "I'm surprised that you're still looking for him after all these years, Mr. Stark."

"Why's that, Ms. Carbonell?" Howard had asked and her lips had curved into a smile.

"Because I never took you to be a woman in disguise, Mr. Stark." Howard had looked up and tugged his goggles back up, giving her a confused look.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I thought you were a Stark, not some woman who goes crawling back to a man who cheated on her or broke her heart. Clearly, I was wrong." She had stood and walked out the door of the workshop, her heels clicking along the floor and had left Howard alone with his blueprints and tools.

~o0o~

Howard would abandon his search for Steven Grant Rogers not four months after those words and when she had asked why he had taken a drink of his whiskey and had given her an unreadable look and said; "I'm a Stark, not some bloody woman."

S.H.I.E.L.D had stormed into Howard's office soon after, demanding to know why he had left them to find Captain America on their own, Margaret "Peggy" Carter standing behind the agents with an amused look in her eyes, and Howard hadn't even looked up from his paperwork and had said "I'll tell you exactly what I told Ms. Carbonell; I'm Howard Stark, not some woman. I'm not going to help you search for Rogers anymore. You want to find him, you use your own money and resources to do so. Now, get out of my office."

Peggy had smiled at Howard, silently telling him she was proud of his decision to move on from the man that had been Captain America and then had turned her attention to maria. "So, your the famous Stark PA. Tell me, what's it like being Howard's Personal Assistant?"

~o0o~

"If things were different, I could've loved you." Maria tells Peggy, the woman pausing in their training session momentarily and studies her, her brown curls pulled back and her lips painted blood red. "If I had met you instead of Howard, I could've loved you as like I do him."

Peggy had given her a soft, yet sad smile and took her hands. "We were never meant to be, darlin'. Loving you would result in heartbreak and after Steve, I don't think my heart would be able to take the inevitable rejection I'd have to face. You're Howard's girl, in this life and the next, whether or not the idiot realizes it."

Maria had given Peggy a sad smile, tears in her eyes. "I wish I could've been your girl, Peggy. We could've shown _everyone _they're wrong."

Peggy had laughed and tucked a stray strand behind her ear, giving her a sharp smile. "Darlin', we would've ruled the world."

~o0o~

Howard proposed in August of 1966 when she was twenty-seven and there were no speeches or wild declarations of love, hell, he didn't even get down on one knee, instead placing a small velvet box in the middle of the papers she'd been looking through. "Marry me, Maria" he had said and she had thought back to that conversation that happened two years before with Peggy and had felt her cheeks stain with blood.

She'd been right, Maria was Howard's girl and always would be.

Maria's hands had were clean of ink for once and her hair left down to brush her sides instead of pulled back in a bun, while Howard was covered in grease and oil with his goggles resting atop his messy hair and she had smiled at him with her cheeks still stained with blush and had said "Yes", because saying "No" would have taken away the inventions and and talks of things women should have no interest in and most of all, it would take Howard away from her.

He was hers as she was his.

And not even Lady Death could take him from her, not this time.

~o0o~

Howard drank far too much and spent too much time in his workshop, but Maria loved him despite his many faults and then loved him even more when he agreed to compromise with her on how he spent his time, agreeing that he had to come to bed before eleven-thirty at least two nights a week and had to spend Sunday dinners with her. It's never voiced or becomes a formal agreement, but Howard comes to join her at least one a week in the library and she's given full access to his workshop.

She had always loved watching him build almost as much as she loved watching him stain his hands red.

They would get drunk sometimes and drive too fast, Howard behind the wheel and her in the passenger seat, laughing her delight to the world at the many near misses they would have and Howard would grin that grin of his and drive even faster and her laughter would turn into a scream of pure joy in response. He would later press her knuckles to his lips and whisper against them; "Don't _ever _change, Maria."

Their marriage sparked rumors that caused her to laugh and Howard to shake his head, muttering "Fools" under his breath. They called her a gold-digger and a whore, while they called Howard a dirty-old man and whispered the only reason he'd married her was because she was his PA and therefore, knew _all_ of Howard's secrets, he'd married her to keep her from having the opportunity to spill all of his secrets.

While she did in fact know all of Howard's secrets, the rest of it was all bullshit.

"He is mine as I am his, that's all there's to it," She would respond when asked why she had married Howard, her teeth bared in the parody of a smile and Howard's grip on her waist would tighten.

"Much better than; 'Till death do us apart." Howard has murmured in her ear and she had pressed a kiss on his jaw.

"Lady Death would _never _separate us, _i__l mio amore _. We'd be _far _more interesting _together _than _apart _." Howard had pressed a kiss to her, the feeling of his teeth scraping the soft skin of her jugular telling her that he approved.

"Well then, let's give Lady Death a show."

~o0o~

They had been dangerous as CEO and Personal Assistant, but as husband and wife, they were deadly.

~o0o~

Maria learned she was pregnant sometime during early September of 1972 and told Howard three days later during one of those nights were they danced within his workshop, him in his grease-stained shirt and her in her nightgown. He had just twirled her into his arms and she had stood on the tips of her toes to whisper in his ear "I'm pregnant, _il mio amore _" and stepped back to watch as he froze, his beautiful and brilliant mind trying to process what he'd just heard.

Maria had expected a lot of things, but the "Fuckin' Hell, we're fucked" that had followed her announcement was not among that list and she had laughed, burying her face in the crook of Howard's neck, because it was just so _Howard _for him to respond to the news of his wife being pregnant with something like that.

She had hummed a soft tune in Howard's ear as they swayed softly and whispered "Such elegant words, Howard."

"I don't have a parental bone within my body and if you have any maternal instincts, it's buried beneath your numbers and that madness of yours. We would not know what to do with a child, not with how damaged we are." Howard had said, his tone blunt and she huffed a laugh against his neck.

"You've got a point, but all I can think of is a little boy with your beautiful hair and brilliant mind running around the mansion." Howard had fallen silent, clearly mulling over the image she had given him.

"A little boy with your eyes and just the right amount of your madness, Maria." She had grinned against his neck in victory.

"Anthony Edward Stark, named after my beloved Antonio." Howard had hummed in agreement and twirled her, before pulling her close and kissing her gently, though his grip on her waist tightened possessively.

"And if it's a girl?" Howard had posed the question and she fell silent for a moment, before responding.

"Margret Carmela Stark, named after Peggy Carter." Howard hums in agreement and then chuckles, clearly thinking of something that amused him.

"Imagine if it were twins; Anthony Edward and Margaret Carmela Stark. The world would already fear any child we conceive, but twins…" And Maria had laughed, her amber eyes sparkling with madness and Howard flashed her a feral grin. "Twins with my brains and your madness, they'd rule the world and _nobody _would even realize unless they wanted the world too."

"Well, then _il mio amore _, let's hope for twins and pray poor Jarvis can handle the news."

~o0o~

Jarvis had gone white as a sheet and had fainted when they had told him, much to Maria's amusement and Howard had rolled his eyes with a "Honestly, Jarvis? Is the knowledge that I managed to reproduce that horrifying?" one the man had woken.

"I believe it is the knowledge you managed to reproduce with Maria is what I found horrifying, Sir. She is a rather...terrifying woman. No offense, Mrs." Jarvis had responded and Maria's lips had quirked in amusement.

"None taken, Jarvis."

The world on the other hand had fallen silent and had plotted, wanting to get rid of the child before it was even born because the world knew that whatever child Howard and Maria Stark created would undoubtedly inherit Howard's mind and whatever made Maria terrifying.

Both Maria Stark and the fetus had to die, after all, they could've have Stark getting his wife pregnant again, now could they?

~o0o~

All attempts failed.

Spectacularly, much to Maria's amusement.

~o0o~

On May 29th, 1973 after seventeen hours of labor, Anthony Edward and Margaret Carmela Stark came into the world, Anthony with a loud cry and flailing limbs, while his sister, who was born with a whimper and eyes that burned like fire, only to be immediately shoved into their stunned father's arms as he watched doctor and nurses raced to Maria's side as her vitals started to drop rapidly, followed by the sound of the steady, singular long beep that signaled that a heart had stopped beating.

Howard watched, numb, as the doctor and nurses tried again and again to rehabilitate his wife, to get her heart starting again, but the sound of a singular beep continued until with a shake of his head, the doctor took a step back and told the nurses to call time of death and turned to him with a "I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Stark", and Howard's mind went blank.

Maria.

His beautiful, crazy Maria with her long blonde hair and dark skin.

She was gone.

Howard felt his knees buckle from underneath him and then the shouting started, their voices sounding as though they were all underwater. "MR. STARK!"

"SOMEONE CATCH HIM!"

"THE BABIES! SOMEONE GET THEM BEFORE HE HITS THE GROUND!"

Maria was dead, taken by Lady Death.

Howard wished Lady Death had taken him instead.

* * *

**Marvel, it's movies, characters, comics, and merchandise all belong to the Walt Disney Company and it's subsidiaries. I'm not writing this fanfiction for profit, only fun.**

**I got all of the translations from Google translate, so if the terms are incorrect and you are fluent in Italian, please let me know so I can fix it.**

**Sorellina-Little sister**

**Lady Death-Signora Morte**

**Of course, dear brother-Certo, caro fratello**

**Foolish boys, they chase you for your pretty face, only to run in the opposite direction once they see beyond it.-Ragazzi sciocchi, ti inseguono per la tua bella faccia, solo per correre nella direzione opposta una volta che vedono oltre.**

**My love-il mio amore**


End file.
